If there's one thing to know about management's position in the lockout, it's this: The competitive balance issue isn't about competitive balance. It's about extracting money from the players' pockets and giving it to the owners. Remember that. Cross-stich it onto a decorative throw pillow. Print it on your personalized alternate throwback jersey. The competitive balance issue is about redistributing wealth from the players to the owners. For more, please read Henry Abbott, who has been doing yeoman's work on the issue: "Instead, the league asks us all to celebrate competitive balance—so long as the pain of creating it is felt primarily by the players. When owners could do something real to make the league more competitive, like change the playoff format or pay Chris Paul far more on the open market, they lose interest." [TrueHoop]